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S. AND H. M. TIMSON. CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE. APPLlcATloN FILED JULY 1, 1920.

1,358,264. Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

S. AND H. M. TIMSON.

cmcuLAR Kwmms MAcHlNE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY l. 1920.k

'Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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unirsi) sTATE's SAli'UEL TMSON iND HARRY V-.FGELEY TEMSON, OF LEICESTER, ENGLAND, ASSIGNRS O3? UNE-HALF TO THLVIAS MRLEY AND FREDERICK WLLIAM MRLEY, BOTH OF Lnrcns'rnza, nNGLANn.

CIRCULAReKNITTING MACHINE.

intensa.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

Application led July l, 1920. Serial No. 393,413.

fo all whom t may concern Be it known that we, SAMUEL T IMsoN and Hanny Monter TiMsoN, subjects of the liling of Great Britain, residing at Leicester, in the county of Leicester, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in or Relating to Circular-Knitting Machines, of which the following` is a specification.

This invention relates to circular knitting machines and concerns yarn changing means especially, though not necessarily exclusively, applicable to rib machines for producing horizontal stripes, running in a splicing thread when making a welt` and like purposes.

The invention, which comprehends mechanism for automatically changing theiknitting yarn and severing` and clamping the yarn withdrawn during the knitting operation7 is applicable to machines of the stationary and revolving cylinder type having one or more feeders, but it is mainly intended for use on a multiple feeder rib machine.

The invention consists of yarn changing` means comprising a pair of yarn-guides each mo Table for yarn feeding and withdrawing purposes, and a yarn severing and clamping device, said yarn-guides being operated in such a manner that between the in: troduction of a non-knitting yarn and the withdrawal of the lniitting yarn a certain amount of knitting` is allowed to take place and the severing and clamping device being operated in association with the yarn-guides so that while one yarn knitting, theend of the non-knitting yarn is held, said end being released after movement of the nonknitting yarn to the feeding position, and

the yarn withdrawn from the* knitting` position being subsequently severed and clamped, characterized by the feature that the actuating means of the movably` yarnguides include rock levers adapted to be operated by a member movable to different operative positions, said levers being arranged so that the member will, in each of its operative positions, actuate the forward end of the rock-lever and the rear end of the other rock lever thereby moving the inoperative yarnguide to the feed ing position and moving the operative yarn guide to the non-feeding position.

lThe invention will be particularly de- Fig. 5 Vis al plan of the essential parts of the arrangement shown in F ig. l.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the yarn changing means viewed from the right of Fig. l.

Throughout the drawings like parts are designated by the same reference characters.

In. the example shown, the invention is applied to a circular rib knitting machine of the stationary cylinder type and having two or more feeders onl. one of which is shown in the drawings. lieferring to Figs. l and 5, the cam box l rotates within the Xed bed 2 about the needle cylinder 3 above which is carried the stationary dial l in the usual manner. According to the invention there is provided at each feeder a pair of movable yarnguides mounted on the cam boXl l, and a yarn severing and clamping device mounted on the dial cap 5; Conveniently the yarn guides consist of bars 6, 6a disposed radially and substantially horizontally and having at their ends nearest the needle cylinder tubular guides 7, 7a for the respective yarns 8 and 8a. The bars are supported approximately centrally by carrier levers 9, while their rear ends are connected to swinging levers l0, 10'. The carrier levers 9 and 9a are fulcrumed at l1 and lla while the swinging levers l0 and l0 are fulcrumed at l2 and 12a, all said fulcrums being carried on a bracket 13 at tached to the cam boX l by a screw 14. By means of the carrier lever each bar is carried backward and forward relatively to the cylinder needles l5 during which movements it is caused, by reason of its connection with the swinging lever to rock on its carrier lever so that the tubular yarn-guide is lifted over the top of the cylinder needle. The movements of the points of connection of the carrier lever and swinging lever with the carrier levers. the rock lever 253 bei the bar are indicated by dotted arcs in Fig. l.

Thebars 6 6a and their associated levers arepas'shownin Figs.` 5 and 6. arr'angedon opposite sides of the bracket 13 and it is to be understood that each bar isf-movable independently of the other in the manner described. Attached to the bracket 13 is a T member 16 (Figs. l and 6) between the arms of which and pins l?, il on the levers l0, im springs i8, 18 are arranged and serve 4to hold the Vrespective guides 7, T in the feeding. and non-feeding positions, which are determined by stop pins 1.9, 19 (Figs. l, 5 and 6) between which the swing Alevers `Work.' In Figs'l to 5 the guide 'l' is shown in the'iieeding position While the guide 7a occupies the non-feeding position.

The yarn-guides lay their yarns for leed ing purposes in a gap 20 formed-in the plate orlatch Guard 2i (Figs. l, 2 and 5) said gap being' shapedand positioned relativelv yto the cylinder needles i5 to replace the usual :toed hole. rlhis ieedeil plate isc/one veniently supported by the lat'oresend bracket 13 to which itis attached by screws 22 (Fig. l).

Mounted horizontally on the bracket are two rock levers 23. 24: (Figs. and 6) ar ranged to turn upon a vertical and'approx' mately centrally disposed anis conve y formed by the screvv25. rllhese roch le rs are operatively connected each with one of lever on its pivot 25 to move the yarn'ouidc V to the yarn feeding position, and asi.E ilar operation ofthe opposite end oii the rock lever moves the yarnguide to `Withdraw the yarn troni `the needles as will be hereinafter more fully explained,

Thestationary operating ineinher conveniently'consists of a rollerl 8l (Figs. 5 and 6) 'mountedvr upon the upper end of a'post 32 slidable through a bearing on the machine bed 2. The roller 3l is adiuslable vertically to ditierenthorizontal planes.l as indicated'in Figit'. by an lactua-.tion ofthe post 32 this .being eiected by intermediate ineens-operable from a 4pattern inech nisin which ineansand mechanism may be ot any suitable torni.

By reference to Fig. 6 it ivill be seen that although the roel: levers7 23, 24 occupy diiferent horizontal planes, they are so formed that the front end orp each lever is situated in the saine horizontal plane as the other end of the opposite lever7 that is to say, the nose 2l of the lever 23 is substantially level. with the nose 30 of the lever 24. and. the nose 29 of the lever 24- is substantially level with the nose 2S of the lever 23. The result of this is that in each of its operative positions the opera-ting rneinber will inove iirst one end of the lever and then the other end oit the opposite lever. ln this manner one rock lever is first actuated to carry the nonknitting yarn to the needlesA and then the other rock lever is actuated to withdraw the knitting yarn, the distance hetvveen the said ends ot' the levers determining the interval between the introduction oi? one yarn and the Withdrawal of the other. l

The roller 31 is arranged to occupy a neutral or inoperative position where it is below the rock levers as shovvn by i"ull lines in Figs. l and 6. ln one operative position indicated vby the dotted lines in Fig. (i. the roller is situated inthe path of the projections 29 and 28 ot the respective rock .levers 2e and 23. ln another (werftive po* sition indicated by the dot and dash lines 85, the roller is situated inthe path of the projections 27 and 30 of the respective roch levers 23 and 2li. rllhe Cain box revolves in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 5, and assuming the yarn guides 'T and 7 to occupy the positions shown and the roller El to be moved to the tirst operative posi.- tion (Fig. 6), then when the roch levers pass the roller. the nose 29 ot lever 24C Will. by Contact Withthe roller, turn said lever and thereby, through the linlr 26a and can rier lever 9, inovethe guide '.7 troni the non-feeding to the feeding position after which the nose 28 ot lever 23 vvill7 by contact with the roller, turn said lever 23 so `that by the link 26 the carrier lever 9 will be actuated to Inove the guide 7 tothe nonfeeding position. lt Will be understood that when on passing` the roller 3l one end ot either rock lever is moved inward, the oppo site end of said lever simultaneously' nieves outward. but being situated on a different horizontal plane'is not acted upon by the roller until the latter is inoved to the other operative height.

The yarn severingand clampingdevice consists of a block 36 (Figs. l. 8 and 5) let into ad attached to the dial 4cap 5 and having in its front vertical face a slide 3T, best seen in Fig. l. The block 36 has "formed in it a gap 38 (Figs. 3 and for the reception or" the lower tubular en'ls of theyarnguides 7. la when they move to the inoperative position v"represented by the member 7a in Figs. land 5. The slidef' ivorls across the 'front of the gap formed. upon it finger 39 (Figs. 3 and l) the edge 40 of which is sharpened to constitute a shearingedge and arranged to operate, as the slide moves toward the left, in conjunction with a similarly sharpened edge 4l on a plate 42 (Figs. 3 and 5) to sever the yarn. The plate 42 is fastened to the front of a spring controlled bolt 43 arranged in the block 36 whereby the cutting edge 41 is held in close contact with the cooperating edge 40. The side 44 of the finger 39 also operates in conjunction with a cheek 45 on the block to serve as a clamp to hold the end of the yarn after severance.

The slide 37 is actuated by an arm 46 (Figs. l and 5) fast with a lever 47 pivotally mounted on the bracket 13 said lever being controlled by a spring y48 (Fig. 6) so that normally the slide is maintained with the clamp members 44 and 45 closed as indicated in Fig. 5. An arm 49 attached to the lever 47 (Figs. l and 5) is connected by a link 50 to the free end of an actuating lever 51 situated between the rock levers 23, 24 (Fig. 6) mounted to turn upon the screw 25. This lever 51 is arranged so that a foot 52 thereon (Figs. 1, 5 and 6) occupies a position to make contact with the roller Bl as the cam box revolves, and when this occurs, the lever 51 is thereby moved so that by the link 50 and arm 49, the arm 46 is actuated to move the slide in the arrow direction (Fig. 5) to separate the clamp members andV also the shearing members as shown in Fig. 3. The foot 52 of the lever 51 is arranged in such a position between the two rock levers 23, 24 and relatively to the projections thereon, that when the roller 31 is in either of its operative positions 34 or 35 it will operate theI slide actuating lever 51, Further, the said foot 52 is disposed so that it will make contact with the roller after the latter has moved the nose 27 or 29 and thereby brought the inoperative yarn-guide to the feeding position and before the nose 30 or 28 is operated to move the operative yarn-guide to the inactive position.

In the operation of the complete mechanism, when the knitting yarn is to be changed, the roller 31 is raised by the pattern mechanism from the neutral position to one of the operative positions 34, 35 so as to be in the circular track of the rock lever of the yarn guide which is in operation. When the nose on the forward end of this rock lever passes in contact with the roller, the non-knitting yarn, is carried from the back of the cylinder needles 15 and laid in the gap 2O so that it is taken by the cylinder needles in conjunction with the knitting yarn, its end meanwhile remaining clamped between the parts 39 and 45. When the foot 52 of the actuating lever 51 passes in contact with the roller 31, the slide 37 is actuated to separate the clamp members and thus release the end of the yarn, and also move the cutting edge 40 away from the edge 4l. After this, and while the foot 52 is still under operation by the roller 31, the nose on the rear end ofthe other rock lever passes in contact with said roller whereby the other yarn-guide is moved to raise its yarn from the gap 20-thus withdrawing it from the needlesA-and lay it between the separated cutting edges and clamping members. lVhen the actuating lever 51 passes from contact with the roller 31 the slide 37 under the influence of the spring 48 moves to the normal position thereby severing the yarn between the edges 40, 4l and clamping the end between the parts 39 and 45.

A roller such as 3l may be furnished for each feeder of the machine or one of such members may serve for all the feeders, it being understood that yarn changing mechanism of the kind herein described may be furnished at each of the feeders.

In the application of the invention to a machine of the type wherein the dial cap and the cam box are stationary, any suitable means operable from the pattern mechanism or by or from a member rotating with the needle cylinder may be employed to actuate the yarn guides and the severing and clamping slide.

l/Vhen the invention is applied to machines which are not equipped with a dial, a suitable member adapted to constitute an equivalent support is provided for carrying the severing and clamping device. Y

Vhat we claim then is 1. For circular knitting machines of the kind herein referred to, yarn changing means comprising, in combination, a pair of yarn-guides each movable for yarn feeding Iand withdrawing purposes. and actuating means for the yarn-guide comprising Va rock lever foreach. of said guides and a single operating member for said levers movable to diiferent operative positions, said levers being arranged so that the member will, in each of its operative positions, actuate first the forward end of one rock lever and then the rear end of the other rock lever thereby moving the inoperative yarn-guide to the feeding position and moving the operative yarn-guide to the nonfeeding position.

2. In a circular knitting machine of the class described, the combination of a pair of yarn guides each movable to yarn feeding and withdrawing positions, a rock lever for actuating each of said guides, a single operating member for said levers movable to different operative positions, said levers being so relatively located that the operating member will in each of its operative positions actuate first the forward end of one rock lever and then the rear end of the other rock lever thereby to reverse the positions of the yarn guides, a yarn severing and llO 

